Amar a un Gringo
by Sincerely C
Summary: Charlie has been searching for the force that seems to keep the doctors feeling alive. If it isn't the adrenaline from their jobs, could it be something else? Set after 1x9. CharliexOC. Slash. Harsh Language. Adult Situations/Adult Themes.
1. Señor Cox

**Here is the first chapter of my first experimental story in Off the Map. Please give me your feedback.**

**Warnings: Slash/Strong language/adult themes**

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**Working at the clinic seemed to become more and more eventful for everyone, but Charlie. Going back to the condo he was watching, Charlie reflected on the relative lack of responsibility he had, that most teenagers would kill for. But he was so tired of being independent, with nothing living or dying because of his presence or the lack thereof. He'd tried a pet, but that didn't go too well. There had to be something that could help him. Everyone at the clinic seemed to have something that kept them alive, something that, no matter what, could get them through it. It had to be the dependence of lives upon them, right? That was one of the reasons someone became a doctor, wasn't it? So why was it that even having something like a fish or other small animal depending on him didn't seem to make it any better?

As Charlie pondered this, he wandered down the road of the village and looked around at the people walking by. Standing out of the crowd, was a thin, white boy about the same age as Charlie, attempting to converse with the locals, but only getting exasperated glances and mutters of '_turistas estúpida'_ as the villagers continued on their ways. Charlie walked up to the struggling boy, with a broad smirk upon his face.

"Hola gringo!" This didn't seem to sit too well with the boy.

"I may only know three words of Spanish, but that's one of them," he replied with a scowl as he continued to walk past the teenager.

"I don't mean it as an insult, amigo. Let me help you. Where are you going?" he replied, genuinely trying to help the boy now.

"Okay then," he replied with a slight smile towards Charlie. "I'm looking for Condo-miny-ous Buh-eh-na Vista." Charlie couldn't help but stifle his laughter at the boy's pronunciation. "What! That's how it sounds!"

"Condiminios Buena Vista," he managed to squeak out between fits of laughter. When he calmed down, he took the boy's arm and began to run towards the condominiums.

"Where in the hell are you taking me!"

"Calm down, gringo. I'm taking you to the condos."

When the two arrived at the building, Charlie let the other teenager's arm go and faced him. "Here it is." He was smiling. And it was… sincere. It wasn't something that the boy was used to.

"Thank you," he replied. He couldn't stop himself from smiling back at the other.

"Sir. Are you checking in today?" the women at the reception desk asked.

"Yes ma'am. The reservation is under Cox."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Cox. You are room 506, as I'm sure your father informed you. We'll have someone escort you and your bags up."

"Thank you."

Charlie smirked as this 'Mr. Cox' walked away. He was personally invested in this now. He had to figure out how to mess with this guy now, and learn a little bit more about him. Charlie decided now would be a good time to go up to the condo he was taking care of for some old, rich couple: room 505.

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As Charlie went through, yet another, day at the clinic, it was all pretty much the same, except… it wasn't. Having both Keeton and Clark gone was like the clinic being empty. Sure, there was still Zee, Cole, and the Americanos… and Lily, but it just wasn't the same. Keeton was practically a father to Charlie, or the closest thing he'd had to one since he was nine, and having him gone was kind of strange. But he would always have Tommy to mess with, and Lily to… stare at. At least now he knew that Lily knew his name, but it still wasn't enough. Not to mention that now he couldn't wait to go and mess with Cox. Or perhaps learn his first name.

It wasn't like he would normally _have_to be at the clinic, but with the absence of Keeton and Clark, he had to help pick up the slack, which he would've normally been thrilled about, but it was bittersweet today. Even catching a fleeting glimpse of Lily lost its luster today. He still needed to find that thing that made him feel alive, but it wasn't anything that he could see the doctors having. But they still seemed to have it, but it wasn't something that he could spot. What could it be?

Charlie's thoughts were interrupted by an exasperated Zee. "Chico, please help me with this patient. Gringo never stops bitching and whining about this and that. He's about your age, so see if you can deal with him."

"Si, señora." Zee smiled at the boy before leaving to deal with her other patients before she went back in there and bitch slapped the teenager in the room.

"Can I please get a doctor in here? " Charlie recognized that voice and couldn't help but smirk.

"Señor Cox! How nice of you to visit." The boy's face went from one of extreme self importance to a completely blank, stupefied expression.

"You're kidding me right? Are there no labor laws here? Do you even need a medical license in this awful country to start a clinic or medical practice?"

Charlie simply shrugged off the less than complimentary comments thrown his way. "So what brings you here, Mr. Cox?"

The teenager simply stared at him. "Marcus. Marcus Cox." He extended his hand to Charlie before he returned to his bitchy self. "The food in this shithole is practically poisonous," he spat out with more venom than he claimed the food contained. "I had some at some rundown cantina and I think they managed to give me cholera or something."

"You're in a pleasant mood. Well I doubt its cholera; we haven't had any major floods lately."

"Oh, good; they _**do**_ require you learn something before they give you a license." Charlie smirked at the pale boy's paranoia.

"I'm not a doctor, smart ass. I'm just helping out around here before I get my medical license. It sounds like you have food poisoning. I'll send a doctor in soon."

"Thank you…" the silence seemed to imply that he was searching for a name.

"Charlie. By the way, I have to ask you something," the boy nodded in response, "why didn't you go to the only American pizza stand in the village instead of going to a local restaurant?"

"Two reasons. They don't serve alcohol there, and the first time I walked in, a couple years ago, the guy smiled. I left."

"Two questions. Aren't you a little young for alcohol?" The boy flipped Charlie the bird at this, "and why would you leave because he smiled? You weren't like that when I smiled." Marcus' face became serious at this.

"It was one of the fakest smiles I've ever seen. Your smile was real, and sincere, and you…" Charlie cocked his head to the side, urging Marcus forward with his eyes. "You're kind of cute." Charlie's eyes went wide, and then a sly grin stretched across his face.

"So señor Cox likes-"

"Say it and you won't have one." Charlie stopped, but he couldn't quit smiling.

"So I'm cute, huh? How cute am I?"

Marcus simply shot Charlie a dirty look as Mina walked in. Charlie left the room, and as Marcus noticed the rather pale skinned doctor, a shout of "Thank god, an American!" could be heard throughout the clinic.

Charlie now had something to make him feel alive, and it was fucking with Marcus Cox.

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**Thank you for reading, and I know that it says that this is a romance, and it is, but there will be an explanation of Charlie's orienation and everything. I'm attempting to make this as IC as possible, so bare with me. Feel free to criticise, but try to steer away from "Charlie isn't gay" because it will all be explained later in the story, thank you.**

**Translations**

**Touristas estupidas: Stupid tourists**

**Gringo: Slang for white person. Usually used in a vulgar/derogatory way, but not with Charlie.**


	2. Confusión

**Here's the second chapter. This gets deeper into the storyline and explains much more. I would like to thank Amasayada for your review. Anyway, here's the chapter: Confusion.**

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Marcus was losing his mind. He had come here, to his father's condo in this awful little village, in order to get away from it all, not to be pestered by an annoying, yet gorgeous, Spanish boy. 'Señor Cox, this; Señor Cox, that.' It was maddening. Charlie's looks were shielding him from Marcus' wrath less and less with each time he opened his mouth.

Marcus attempted to sneak out of the condo as quietly as possible in order to avoid alerting Charlie to his vulnerability in the hallway, where there was no place to hide. The boy's foot landed on a creaky board just as he passed room 506 and Marcus knew his cover had been blown.

"Señor Cox!"

'Shit!' was the only thing that crossed the teenager's mind as he heard that voice. He knew that this would be the last straw. That he was going to explode if Charlie did something today.

"Señor Cox, how are you today?" A simple question; one that could be answered easily, but it didn't stop there. "So what are you up to? Are you okay? You don't look too good? Do you still have food poisoning?"

"Shut up! Just shut up Charlie! Thank you so much for helping me at the clinic, thank you for showing me the way here, thank you for everything you have done for me, but stop! Stop checking up on me and pestering me! I'm _this_ close to killing you, you idiotic little freak! Okay?" This was what Marcus was afraid of. It wouldn't be long before the boy ran away, hurt by his words, just like everyone else who witnessed him when he blew up. This was what it would always come to. But instead of seeming hurt, Charlie just laughed. He laughed where everyone else would cry or run away. This boy was one of the strangest that Marcus had ever seen.

"You held out for longer than I thought you would! I've been trying to piss you off for the longest time, and it was definitely worth it!" He was now leaning against the wall, bursting into peels of laughter, and smiling so wide that his teeth could be seen perfectly. Marcus was so very angry with this boy and what he'd done, yet he couldn't stop being mesmerized by him.

"You bastard, you are far more capable of pissing me off than anyone I have ever met." Marcus was still so mad at Charlie, but he just couldn't hold on to that anger. Charlie's looks were now an effective shield once more, and Marcus couldn't stop himself. He cupped the laughing boy's cheek with his hand, and leaned in to his face. Their lips touched, and Charlie nearly had a heart attack when he realized what was going on. When Marcus pulled away, he saw the look of pure terror on Charlie's face and couldn't help but feel bad. He brushed a stray lock of dark hair from the bewildered boy's face and whispered, "Wanting to do that right there, was the only reason I didn't murder you." Marcus turned and walked away from the trembling form, knowing that he would be seeing Charlie again, but that it might not be quite as pleasant. He still couldn't bring himself to regret his actions. Marcus was now certain, Charlie was definitely the strangest boy he'd ever met, but he couldn't help but be mesmerized by him.

Charlie watched Marcus go. He was leaning against the wall, using one hand to support himself while the other was brought to his lips. He ran his fingers across them, as if touching them would somehow solve everything, that something would be on them that would explain why he felt so very different. It had to be something medical, right? That's what he'd always thought, that everything wrong with him was something medical, and that's why he felt nauseas yet filled with adrenaline. His entire body quaked; he was sweating heavily and felt as though he would vomit, so he had to be sick, right? But it didn't feel that simple.

"Dios mío."

* * *

"Well you don't have a fever, chico. Are you sure you didn't eat anything strange?"

"No, I didn't. I just don't feel that well."

"Charlie, are you not telling me something?" Zee was serious about this. She was obviously assuming something. She was a wonderful doctor and she really was like a mother to Charlie and everyone at the clinic at some time or another, but that often led to her being overprotective or stepping over some personal boundaries. "Are you sexually active? Did you get a girl pregnant, because I will take a scalpel and cut your-"

Charlie spluttered and shook his head vigorously. "No señora." She looked at him in a way that clearly expressed her skepticism.

"Well then, chico, what's really wrong? And don't try to sell me that 'nothing' _mierda_." Charlie smiled at Zee and how intuitive she was.

"Remember the bitchy gringo?" he began, wondering how to continue with this subject.

"Si, _Señor Cox._" She was obviously not enjoying being reminded of Marcus.

"Well I've been kind of messing with him lately, to piss him off. Then today, he finally got really pissed and I started laughing, and then… he kissed me." Zee's jaw dropped at this. When she finally seemed to put all the pieces together, she seemed to be equally baffled by the current turn of events.

They sat there, in silence, for several minutes, just looking at each other and thinking. Zee took a moment to examine Charlie and his situation. He was a young, extremely handsome, and kind boy who wanted nothing more than to learn, but she knew she had to look deeper. Underneath, Charlie was a developing youth who still had to figure out so much in his life. He was damaged and still felt abandoned and was extremely fragile. Finally, Charlie was an extremely hormonal bundle of mixed emotions and confusion, and being introduced to a brand new possibility of romance with someone of a gender he can actually understand, with virtually no real knowledge of what this is, if it's normal, or if there is something wrong with him could not only cause extreme confusion, but self loathing and isolation as well. The poor boy needed someone to help him, and Zee didn't trust the gringos to do it, especially Fuller, so she knew that Keeton would have to be the one to help him figure this out. More importantly, Zee would have to get the drop on this Cox boy in order to figure out what the hell he was doing. Charlie needed a family, and they were it. So if Zee was the mother, she was going to be the best damned mother she could be and kick this gringo's ass if he hurt Charlie.

"We have to tell Keeton, okay?"

"No! Don't tell anyone about this, okay?" Charlie was resistant and was obviously not too keen on the idea of telling anyone.

"Chico, you need to tell him. He can help you with this. You can trust him, okay?" She desperately needed Charlie to realize that this was for the best.

He gave in with a reluctant, "Si."

* * *

Marcus sat in one of the chairs that the staff had set out on the sand and rested. He'd been there for nearly an hour and was glad to have some nice time alone in the sun. _'At least I'll have a decent tan. Even if the rest of this trip falls to shit, I can still say that.'_ A large shadow blocked out the sun, ruining Marcus' plan of getting a tan. Exasperated, the boy ripped off his sunglasses, wincing as he managed to take a few chestnut colored hairs with them.

"Can I help you?" he asked angrily as he stared at the silhouette.

"Si, please tell me what the hell happened this morning!" Charlie was obviously over the extreme terror caused by the kiss and now switched to white hot fury.

Wishing to show Charlie that he wasn't the only one capable of playing games, Marcus decided to play dumb and piss him off even further. "I do believe that I went downstairs and had a second rate continental breakfast, then I went sightseeing, and then I came to the beach here to relax, but was interrupted by a rather good looking boy. Why? What did you do today?" Charlie didn't seem to be quite as amused by this as Marcus was. He grabbed Marcus by the wrist and hoisted him out of the chair.

"You know what I'm talking about!" Charlie was now furious. He just wanted answers, something to explain to him what was going on.

"Oh! You mean this!" Before Charlie could figure out what 'this' was, he found himself horizontal. His back was on the sand, and Marcus was on top of him; their lips were pressed together and Marcus showed no sign of regret, remorse, or anything other than enjoyment.

Marcus knew that it wouldn't be too long before he was thrown off of the boy. He might have been known to exert his dominance over others, but he knew all too well that he was nearly a foot shorter than Charlie, and not nearly as muscular. Yet, instead of being thrown off and landing in the sand, Charlie's arms were wrapping around Marcus' waist, and Charlie didn't seem to want it to end either; in fact, Charlie was actually starting to kiss Marcus back. But when they broke for air, Charlie's eyes went wide, he flipped over and left Marcus sitting in the sand and rushed back to the condos. He had no idea what was going on anymore.

The only thing that Charlie was sure of at the time was that he needed to get away from Marcus and figure everything out.

* * *

Charlie sat in his room at the hostel. He could've stayed in the more luxurious condo, but he wanted to be as far away from Marcus as possible, right now. He needed a reassurance of who he was, his sexuality, something.

'_What did I need more than anything before I met this stupid Americano? I wanted to become a doctor, right? And I wanted Lily; I wanted Lily Brenner to like me, right?' _

He kept going fromthere. What did he like about Lily? He loved how nice, and beautiful, and kindhearted, and perfect she was. Lily was the ideal woman in Charlie's mind. So what was it about Marcus that made him feel completely different than what he felt for Lily, yet so similar to that feeling? Marcus was mysterious, and bitchy, and uncontrollable, and unpredictable, and he still managed to resemble sex in every way, shape, and form; Marcus was the risky, dangerous, easy choice. Marcus seemed to be everything that Charlie never wanted. Yet here he was, dying inside because this boy wanted him and, for some reason that baffled him, he wanted this boy too.

What did this mean? Was he losing his mind? It couldn't be natural, two boys being together, could it? He'd never seen two men together like Keeton and Clark were, or his mother and father were. Charlie then began to linger on the thought of his mother and father. They had abandoned him. If it was the opposite of what his mother and father would do, if it was just one more thing that separated him from them, he'd happily embrace it.

* * *

Charlie found Marcus the next day as he left for the _Clínica_ and Marcus left for wherever he could drink and bitch all day. Marcus caught his eye and smiled, as if remorse for any emotional damage he could have done was unheard of.

"You're an asshole," Charlie stated frankly before he wrapped one arm around Marcus' waist and used the other to support them as he leaned the shorter boy into the wall and kissed him. As the two seemed to lose all sense of time and space with each other, Charlie reflected on this mysterious teenager he was exploring. Marcus Cox was a mysterious boy who bitched and complained about everything under the sun, drank more than was necessary, or legal for his age, and he somehow managed to attract Charlie, and that was all that Charlie needed for now.

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**Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it explains Marcus and Charlie a little bit better. Thank you to everyone who has read and please give me your feedback.**

**Translations**

**Dios Mio: My god**

**Mierda: Crap**


	3. The Candyman Can

**Thank you for reading up to this point. This is the third chapter. From here on out, I'll be further detailing the relationship of Charlie and Marcus. Please give me your feedback and please read the notice at the bottom when you're done.**

* * *

"No my guh-sta." Charlie let out a heavy sigh, causing Tommy to look at the paper once again. "I'm not seeing the difference here, Charlie."

Charlie had been at it all day, attempting to teach Fuller simple phrases. Sadly, a slow day at the Clinic just meant that Charlie got to deal with attempting to teach an Americano, Spanish.

"You know what, screw it. Reading it isn't helping you." Charlie snatched up the paper, exasperated. "Now listen to the pronunciation. No-me-goosta." Fuller was finally able to repeat it perfectly, and Charlie soon began teaching him other phrases with the same method.

After what seemed like hours upon hours of working with a nearly incompetent American, Charlie was finally able to leave and see what Marcus was up to. The only problem with doing this was actually finding the guy. The only thing that Charlie knew about him was that he liked booze, so he had to be at a cantina, somewhere. As Charlie walked down the road, searching for any signs of the boy, he heard a very distinct, "El alcohol-o. God damn it! Booze! Booze you moron! How hard is it to realize I want booze? I'm at a fucking cantina am I not?"

Charlie rushed in to the building to find Marcus screaming at the poor bartender, who obviously didn't know any English. He grabbed on to the fuming boy in an attempt to calm him down.

Charlie looked at the struggling bartender, "No más, gracias." The bartender gave Charlie a thankful nod and ran off to attend to the other patrons.

"No! I'm not done with you, you bastard! I want my alcohol!" Marcus screamed, obviously unhappy with the disappearance of his supplier. Charlie ushered the boy out of the bar and walked him towards the condos.

"You are a pain in the ass." It didn't seem to be so much directed at Marcus as it was a flat out statement of fact.

"I love you too." Though this seemed to catch Charlie by surprise, the other teenager didn't appear moved at all by what he had said. He actually had just recently noticed Charlie's presence once he had gotten over his anger at the bartender. "You're awesome, Charlie. You know that? You're awesome. You can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but you really are a good guy."

"_I'm_ a pain in the ass?" Charlie asked in surprise. He wasn't the one being dragged towards the condos, drunk off his ass. When no response came, he turned to see Marcus was quietly staring off at the beach while he walked. He was obviously completely tuned out of the conversation. Charlie let out a heavy sigh as he continued to walk Marcus back to the condos. "Yep, _I'm _the pain in the ass."

* * *

"Good morning, Charlie, why so tired?" Charlie raised his head from his arms and looked around to see where that voice had come from. Was it another dream where he heard her voice? It couldn't be; it was too real. "Charlie, are you okay?" A hand skillfully found its way to Charlie's forehead, and as he realized that it belonged to Brenner, his face turned bright red and his skin became hot.

"Yes. Sorry, I didn't sleep too well last night." It was true; Marcus had been annoyingly affectionate until he finally passed out at eleven. He would have fallen asleep much earlier, were it not for the seemingly infinite bottles of various alcohols he had hidden throughout his condo.

"Are you sure? Your face is really warm." Lily was now right in front of him, her face merely inches from his. Her breath was so sweet and warm, and she was surely the most attractive woman Charlie had ever seen. At that moment, he wondered how his gaze could ever stray from her face, and just like that, she was gone. She told him to try to rest better tonight and walked away, giving a brief wave in his direction before disappearing behind a door.

"So why couldn't you sleep last night, little buddy," Tommy seemed to appear just as quickly as Lily disappeared, "hot date run a little long?" Charlie could never seem to fully grasp at Fuller's humor, but he was pretty sure what the man was implying. Charlie simply scowled at Tommy before resting his head back on his crossed arms.

At noon, when every place in the village other than the clinic seemed to be filling up, Charlie awoke from his nap and spotted a familiar figure heading towards the building. He ran towards Marcus, wondering what he could have done to himself this time. When Charlie had come close enough to the boy, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him other than the fact that he was cursing under his breath with each step.

"What the hell did you do to yourself this time?"

"I need aspirin, okay? The people at customs took all mine." Marcus was obviously in some sort of pain from the way he was acting. Charlie quickly figured out what was wrong with him.

"You drank too much, yesterday," he practically yelled. Charlie was obviously satisfied with the way that Marcus flinched and stuck his middle finger up at the direction the noise was coming from. "Do you remember anything about last night?" He was much quieter now.

"Not really." Pure panic suddenly showed in Marcus' eyes. "I mean, of course. You were amazing, Charlie. I'm glad you were my first."

"We didn't do _that_, dumbass." Marcus let out a sigh of relief when he heard this.

"Thank god. Because I have no recollection of last night, and selling that whole, 'my first,' crap is getting harder to do."

"You are extremely fun to talk to, when drunk, though. Much nicer than when you're sober. 'Charlie, you are absolutely amazing. You're like, you're like, you're like… candy. Yeah, candy. You're skin is like caramel, and your eyes are like chocolate, and you taste like sugar. You're like Charlie from Willy Wonka. You're my candy man, Charlie!" Charlie's slurs seemed to reawaken a memory in the back of Marcus' mind, and the look of surprise on the American's face was priceless.

Charlie expected embarrassment, or denial, but he was instead met with, "Shit, that does sound like me. That explains why I have '_The Candyman Can'_ permanently burned into my memory." Charlie couldn't help but laugh at this and dragged Marcus towards the clinic, wishing to get him in and out before Zee could notice him.

Little did Charlie know that it was far too late to hide the boy from Zee.

Otis walked up behind Zee as she watched Charlie and the boy head towards the clinic.

"What up Loca? Now who could do something so bad they'd get your pretty little face all scrunched up and angry?" he asked as he nonchalantly bit into the lollipop in his fist.

Instead of responding to his obvious come on, Zee pointed to Marcus and murmured, "Gringo." Cole looked at the boy and who he was with, then back at Zee. He looked at the boy and Charlie, and the two seemed to be getting along fine. Charlie was chatting along, laughing, and generally smiling more than he normally would; they overall seemed comfortable with each other.

"I don't get it, Loca. Charlie seems happy." Cole looked over at her, but she simply stared. Whatever it was, she didn't feel like sharing it. "Whatever it is, you'll eventually tell me. You can't resist _this_." Cole jokingly motioned to his body with his hands, causing Zee to laugh and hit him playfully. Soon after, she continued glaring at 'Señor Cox.'

Charlie had Lily make the transaction, not wishing to give Zee a chance to interrogate Marcus or having Tommy asking any questions. Lily handed Marcus the aspirin, for which he was very grateful, and Marcus handed her a stack of bills.

"Trust me; the service you have just provided for me is worth far more than this money, so just take it all." Lily gratefully took the wad of cash and left to show it to Zee and Cole. Marcus wasted no time in popping a handful of the pills into his mouth, downing them with a large gulp.

"You're lucky I didn't tell her why your head hurt, or you'd be in the middle of lecture _gigante_. Lily would rip you to shreds for drinking at your age." Marcus stuck his tongue out at Charlie.

Marcus then looked rapidly around where they were. Satisfied with the relative lack of people in the hallway, Marcus quickly kissed Charlie then attempted to escape, but he was quickly reeled in by the other boy. Charlie pulled Marcus in for another kiss and then whispered, "See you later; try not to get too wasted." Marcus simply nodded, for once having no snappy comeback. The boy looked at the other and walked away, almost as if he were uncomfortable with the situation.

Charlie began walking around the clinic to see if he could go do something interesting, maybe see what Fuller was doing.

* * *

Zee took the next hour or so off to have lunch. However, instead of lunch, she had far different plans. It was time to have a talk with this Marcus Cox.

"Hey, gringo! We need to talk about Charlie." That voice was familiar. Where had Marcus heard that before? He ripped the sunglasses from his head, wincing yet again when he managed to rip a few hairs from his head. He really needed to work on being a bit more careful with that. There, in front of him was a rather pissed off looking Doctor Alverez. This wouldn't be fun.

* * *

**I know that it's extremely short, but I wanted to get this chapter over with. Please give me your feedback on the story so far.**

**Finally: I would like to announce that after this chapter the rating will be moved up to M because of Marcus' language and the adult themes. Please don't be turned off to it because of the rating, the only reason it is that way is to avoid violating any rules.**

**Thank you for reading, and please review so I know what you like and don't like. I would love to read your opinions about the story and how you think it's going.**

**Translations:**

**No más, gracias: No more, thank you.**

**Gigante: Giant.**


	4. Amor

**I make no promises. This is a rare update on this inspired mainly by the heavy use of spanish in the book Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. Really just the fact that it had spanish in it made me think of this unfinished chapter sitting in my hard drive. **

**Thank you for your reviews.**

* * *

"It's a yes or no question, Gringo!"

"Uh! Uh! Shit, I don't know! No, I guess not."

"Then you don't?"

"N-no, I don't." Zee promptly left after this, seemingly in neither a good or bad mood.

Marcus let out a rather large sigh. He had been interrogated before, by many rather scary looking individuals, but Zee was the only one who could get him scared and confessing. Something about the woman frightened the hell out of him, and he didn't care to figure out what it was.

Marcus went about his day normally. He attempted to, anyway. Zee's question was still on his mind. Love was never something that had ever come up in any of his relationships. Most of his relationships involved emotionless one night stands with strangers. Love wasn't a part of the equation there, and now it was. But if love was something that was important here, could he continue on without loving Charlie? Could he continue with his normal life if he did turn out to love Charlie? This was an inconvenience to Marcus, but it wasn't a turn off from the relationship the two now had. Marcus didn't truthfully know whether or not he loved this boy he had just met, but this feeling wasn't one he knew. Maybe this was it. He couldn't be sure yet, but he had to do something to figure it out. He had to do the one thing he had always forbid himself from doing when it came to relationships. Marcus was going to have to spend time with Charlie, with little-to-no sexual advances or activity. If he was going to love Charlie, he was going to love everything about him, and that involved becoming attached to the boy in a more than physical way.

* * *

Charlie had come to the opposite conclusion.

"Señor Cox!" Charlie called from down the well decorated hallway of the condominiums.

"What did I say about that?" Marcus called back exasperated, his hands on his hips in a way similar to Zee when she meant business.

Charlie muttered a quick apology before catching up to the other teenager, wrapping him in a hug that Marcus was too shocked to return.

"Are you busy today?" Marcus asked rather awkwardly, staring at his shifting feet and avoiding eye contact. This was uncharted territory.

"No. Want to hang out somewhere? I know a great spot."

The two sat at the spot, watching the waves crash against the rocky face of the cliff so many feet below them. It was quiet, peaceful, oddly romantic even. It seemed like the perfect place for the two of them to enact their individual plans, both unaware of the other's.

"Tell me about yourself."

It wasn't really a question about who he was but more of a command; one that Charlie felt compelled to follow.

Charlie gave Marcus the full rundown, how Keeton was like a father to him, how the clinic was practically his home, etcetera. Charlie talked for what felt like hours to him, surprised by Marcus' attentiveness and focus on every word he said.

As Charlie ran out of things to say, they sat there in silence for a bit, Charlie's knees clenched toward his chest and Marcus' meeting at the soles of his feet with a diamond shaped space in between.

Charlie was now torn between his two options. Use this rare chance to ask Marcus about himself, or enact his original plan.

Before the boy could come to a conclusion, Marcus kissed him by surprise. Charlie spared no time in wrapping his arms around the smaller boy's waist, guiding his tongue into Marcus' mouth, and flipping over to lay him on the ground. It seemed that learning more about Marcus would have to wait.

* * *

It, in fact, did have to wait. As did Marcus and all of the things Charlie had been planning for the two of them.

Charlie sulked in a corner of the clinic, disappointed at the loss of his opportunity. Marcus shouldn't have gotten that call, but he did, and Charlie had been left all alone on the beautiful overlook just as he thought things might have been progressing to that point Marcus had reached many times before; the same point that each member of the clinic had reached in their teenage or young adult lives, but he had never quite reached. Charlie was sure that he would be trapped in a never ending vortex of virginity due to the fact that he seemed to be the only one exempt from Marcus' drunken, whorish ways.

"What's wrong little buddy?" Tommy rounded the corner to find the sullen teenager.

"Nothing," he mumbled, supporting his chin with his hand.

"Well that's a load of shi-" he cut off. "that's just not true."

"Nothing!" Charlie pushed up from his seat, going for the door. Fuller grabbed him by the arm, spinning him back towards his seat.

"Tell me, Charlie," he said with determination.

The boy sat there, running out of options and dying for someone he could talk to. "Tell anyone anything and I'll kill you." Fuller nodded and Charlie continued, "I'm sort of involved with someone."

"Good for you, man. Why you so sad then? What's her name?" Charlie glared at Tommy for a second and the man silenced himself. Charlie was definitely learning too much from Mina.

"Their name isn't important right now. The point is that I don't understand what's going on with hi-her-them. I thought that we would've y'know…" The silence was awkward now.

Fuller filled the silence, "Well maybe they're nervous about it, man. It's probably her first time, Charlie."

"It's not, trust me."

"Charlie, you aren't like dating a hooker or something, are you?" Charlie simply gave him the finger before walking off, tired of talking to the clueless man.

"No," he called back as he left.

* * *

"_No, dad, I don't plan on coming back soon. I'm happy here."_

"_You were complaining about the place a week ago, what made you change your mind? You haven't met another one of those heathens have you?"_

_Marcus ground his teeth loud enough to be heard over the phone. _

"_When do you plan to quit living in sin with those… beasts and find a nice wife? You can't keep shaming our family with your choices. "_

"_Bye dad."_

Marcus had been replaying the conversation over and over in his head. It had been one of the many he'd had with his father that made him like everything about his family less and less. He took another swig as he sat in his beach chair. Paradise and Charlie. This had become his mantra. These things kept him happy and he could stay here for as long as they were in this little village. He finished off the bottle as his thoughts drifted to what kept him in D.C with his family. Nothing but a trust fund that was already hanging by a string.

"Paradise and Charlie, paradise and Charlie, paradise and Charlie."

"Yes?"

Marcus was startled by the sudden appearance of the boy and slightly embarrassed at the thought of Charlie hearing him.

To eliminate any questions that Charlie may have had about what he had been saying, Marcus quickly leapt up from his chair, making sure that the other boy's lips were too occupied to ask questions. Charlie assumed the regular position, his arms snaked around Marcus' small waist, asserting his unspoken dominance over the petite male.

The only thing different about this was that Charlie broke away far sooner than was necessary. Frustrated by the thought of Charlie's willpower overpowering him and the possibility that questions would soon be asked, Marcus pouted at the other teenager.

"I love you." Time stopped as Charlie wrapped his arms around the other in a sensual, warm hug.

"I love you, too."

What would they do now? It was now true that they loved each other, something that Marcus was unsure of. Now that Marcus had entered that uncharted territory, this one was even more unknown. Confused and worried that he would somehow lose Charlie if he didn't know what to do now, Marcus returned to his old ways.

He grabbed the other's wrist, leading him towards the room. This should seal the deal. This would make sure that Charlie wouldn't leave him. He was the most important thing in Marcus' life, and this had been how he got what he wanted from other guys, so this had to be the way to get Charlie to stay, and to keep loving him.

When they reached the door, Marcus unlocked it. Before stepping in to the condo, he looked at who he assumed was now his boyfriend of some sort.

He gazed into the chocolate eyes, "I love you."


End file.
